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CM Mann hits out at Centre after Punjab R-Day tableau rejected
This is for the second consecutive year that Punjab’s tableau has not made it to the Republic Day parade
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday accused the BJP-led Centre of deliberately excluding Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab’s tableau from the Republic Day celebrations with an intention “to wipe out opposition-ruled states from displaying their culture”.
“This is for the second consecutive year that Punjab’s tableau has been deliberately kept out of the cultural parade. We have done all formalities in advance as required by any state. However, we got a letter today from the Centre informing us that Punjab’s tableau won’t be part of the Republic Day parade,” Mann said at a press conference in Chandigarh.
The chief minister accused the Centre of favouring BJP-ruled states at the Republic Day parade. “Of the 20 states whose tableaux have been approved for the cultural showcase, most are BJP-ruled states,” he said.
The chief minister claimed that even AAP-ruled Delhi’s tableau has not been approved.
Showing pictures of the three tableaux prepared by the Punjab public relations department as sought by the Centre, Mann said: “It is disheartening to see how the (Narendra) Modi-led BJP government at the Centre is out to finish Punjab from the cultural scenario of India.”
